Tommina As part of its efforts to support psychological recovery from conflict for community members from Misrata and Tawergha, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), under its Transitional Justice Project, helped establish a Mental Health and Psycho-Social Support (MHPSS) center in Tommina, a town between the two cities. UNDP Resident Representative, Mr. Gerardo Noto, travelled to Tommina to visit the center.

Misrata Education Director, Mr. Ismaeil Aleabid; President of the Municipal Council in Tommina, Mr. Abd-alqadir Shbaw; Chairman of the Committee for the implementation of the terms of the agreement between Misrata and Tawarga, Mr. Yusuf Zrzah; Manager of the Psycho Social Support Center in Tommina, Ms. Amal Saffar; and Director of Atwar organization, Ms. Turkia Alwaeir took also part in the ceremony.

We at the Ministry of Education are already supporting this center and are committed to continue doing so with more supplies and moral support, said Mr. Aleabid, Misrata Education Director.

Mr. Shbaw, President of the Municipal Council in Tommina, stated: We are grateful to everyone who supported this center, especially to UNDP, since its help is allowing the center to provide psychological support services to those people from Misrata and Tawergha affected by the conflict in 2011.

Thanks to the support received from different contributors, particularlly from UNDP, we were able to begin establishing a positive merger between the people of the two cities, which is, in part, apparent from the attendance of this ceremony, declared Ms. Saffar, Director of the center.

Ms. Alwaeir, Director of Atwar organization, said: With support from UNDP, we were able to undertake plenty of projects at the center, including womens' entrepreneurship programmes and activities for Misrata and Tawergha youth to work in the field of active citizenship.

The center has done a superior job in bringing together people of Misrata and Tawergha with a focus on providing pshycosocial support to people deeply affected by the conflict. This is a pillar for reconciliation between communities and UNDP will continue supporting it. concluded, UNDP Resident Representative, Mr. Noto.

With support from the Italian Cooperation Agency, UNDP rehabilitated an old school as the site of the MHPSS Center and supplied it with furniture and equipment, such as books, games and medical items. Then, it trained and mentored 35 local volunteers, including Health Ministry personnel and practicioners to run the center. Teams of three to four people were trained to identify most vulnerable persons in need of support and on how to respond to their phycological needs. The project also worked to empower youth and women to engage in assessment, design planning and monitoring of MHPSS. The center will serve as a common ground for both communities to meet to facilitate reconciliation.